Monash Scholar

26 November 2013

University
of Newcastle Electrical
Engineering graduate
Kumaran Nathan's potential to become a leader in his field has been recognised
with the awarding of a prestigious scholarship from The General Sir John Monash
Foundation to support his postgraduate study at Cambridge University.

Mr
Nathan, who believes Australia has the capability to become a world leader in
renewable technologies and smart grids, is one of 15 students who will receive
a Monash scholarship at the Sydney Opera House, tonight, Tuesday 26 November.

Launched
in 2003, The General Sir John Monash Scholarships are designed to foster
leadership, expertise, and international networks, and build Australia's
capabilities for the future. Scholars are selected on the basis of academic
excellence, demonstrated leadership capability, with the desire and a credible
plan to contribute to Australia.

As
the first University of Newcastle graduate to receive a Monash scholarship,
23-year-old Mr Nathan said he was extremely grateful for the opportunity it
would create, which he expects will lead to a life-changing experience.

"The
research I intend to undertake at the University of Cambridge is a natural
progression of the experience I gained during my final year engineering project
at the University of Newcastle, into the development of a STATCOM (static
synchronous compensator) to increase power quality in electrical networks," Mr
Nathan said.

"One
issue that is preventing a clean, sustainable and renewable energy revolution
is that technologies are in their infancy compared to large coal-fired and
nuclear power stations.

"Networks
have been designed the same way for over 100 years and use unidirectional power
flow from large generators to consumers. My research aims to solve the problems
caused by high levels of distributed generation and assist the world in
progressing to a clean energy future."

Mr
Nathan said the large scale uptake of a clean, sustainable and renewable
electricity generation could produce clean drinking water by powering
desalination plants; address food shortages by growing crops under UV sources;
and increase use of electric vehicles, thereby reducing global reliance on oil.

Mr
Nathan, who graduated from the University of Newcastle this year with first class honours and the
University Medal, will undertake a PhD at Cambridge in 2014, studying distributed energy
generation and storage systems to support renewable energy for Australia.

The
General Sir John Monash Scholarships are now Australia's most prestigious
postgraduate scholarship program, celebrating Australia's finest military leader:
the man increasingly acknowledged as one of our greatest civic leaders.